Rep. Richard Neal tells WFCR the House should make adjustments to tax cut compromise

Republican file photoCongressman Richard Neal told WFCR that he hopes the House can still make adjustments to the proposed compromise between Congressional Republicans and President Barack Obama.

U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, said in an interview with WFCR's Kari Njiiri yesterday that he hopes the House can make adjustments to the compromise plan between President Barack Obama and Congressional Republicans over the extension of temporary tax cuts enacted by former President George W. Bush.

That letter called for "permanent tax cuts for the middle-class while allowing the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest two percent of Americans to expire, using any additional revenue to close our budget deficit."

Neal's concern - similar to what Olver expressed on WAMC earlier this week - is that the 2 percent payroll tax deduction proposed by the plan would cut into Social Security and Medicare, which the tax funds. Neal told WFCR:

While I don't object to the idea necesarily of a payroll tax reduction over the course of the next year, I want to make sure that that payroll tax reduction does not come at the expense of the Social Security trust fund.

So while we all acknowledge that this is really nothing more than a second stimulus bill, there also has to be an understanding that it cannot be just top-heavy with tax cuts for people on the upper end, that there needs to be some semblance of balance for people in the middle income categories. Listen to the story »